Prep Positions {APP Review}

Smarty Ears has done it again! They have created another app which was a huge hit with my students. This app addresses prepositions with a fun circus theme.

Initially you will need to set up a profile for each player. The set up is very easy since it is voice guided.

Once you have entered the student, you will need to adjust the level by sliding the elephant up and down. There are 15 levels to choose from targeting different prepositions, which are shown to the right of each level. They did a fantastic job of including a wide range of prepositions and grouping them in terms of difficulty. After choosing the level you are ready to begin. 

Your student(s) will need to drag the correct answer into the sentence. The app reads the sentences, but not the answers. However, if your student clicks on each word it will say the word for them. Once they choose the correct word they are given visual and auditory reinforcement. 

Then, they are prompted to record themselves saying the completed sentence with the correct word. 

After so many correct responses they will earn a ball which they can use in the game after they have completed a certain number of trials.

The object of the game is to shoot the ball the farthest. 

Another great feature is you can adjust the settings from inside the game by clicking on the settings button in the top left corner. This allows you to turn the audio off/on, change the background to a neutral color, increase/decrease the frequency for prompts and turn them on/off. 

This app also tracks each students progress and has it broken down by level, session, or by preposition. This breakdown is so helpful when trying to identify what specifically needs to be targeted with a students. The information can be emailed or imported into the Therapy Report Center.

If you have students who need to work on using prepositions, this is an excellent app to use. I used it with my 2nd, 3rd, and 5th graders, but would use it with students in middle school as well. It is simple, easy to use, motivating, and gives students tons of practices. 

If you are interested in purchasing this app, it is available on iTunes for 19.99 at the time of this review. For more information about this app you can visit Smarty Ears.

**A copy of this app was provided by Smarty Ears. No other compensation was provided. The opinions expressed are all mine.** 

Pot of Gold Craftivity Blog Hop

St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner! And I have been busy collaborating with some of my SLP blogger friends to bring you the Pot of Gold Craftivity Blog Hop. This hop is filled with fun hands on activities to get your students excited and learning their target skills with a fun St. Patrick's Day theme. 

I love sensory bins and so do my students. So, my freebie is a sensory bin where your students will be searching for gold coins while practicing their articulation. 

(Click on the picture below for the freebie.)

 I bought an inexpensive plastic bin from the Dollar Store and added Easter grass (also from the Dollar Store). Then, I buried the gold coins in the grass and had my students take turns pulling coins out and collecting them in their pot. 

I hope you enjoy using this as much as my students have. For more pot of gold speech and language activities, check out Speechasaurus.

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Clover!

She's back in another great book by Lucille Colandro! I just can't get enough of her adorable books. So, of course I had to create some activities to use with this fun story. This companion is very similar to my others and targets themed vocabulary, sequencing, story retell, rhyming, spatial concepts, verbs and much more.

Here is a peek inside...

My students love to feed the old lady! We work on sequencing, turn taking, story retell, vocabulary and length of utterance with this one activity. There is also a sequencing mat included in color and black & white.

Comprehension questions are included with three different levels. 

There are worksheets targeting verbs, following directions, rhyming, and reinforcement pages.

I love using the interactive book with my preschool/kindergarten students.

Vocabulary

Syllables

Following directions

Prepositions

So, who is feeling lucky? Enter below to win a copy or you can check it out in my store.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Learning Verbs {App Review}

Last week I received a message from a new app developer, Language Concepts. They asked me to check out their new app Learning Verbs. Of course I jumped at the offer, since I love finding new materials to use with my students.

Learning Verbs  is designed to target receptive learning of verbs. There are 22 real images to choose from with the option to add your own images.

After selecting which verbs you are going to target, you are able to choose how they will be displayed for your students.  You can have a field of one, two, three, or four verbs presented at a time. You are also able to turn the text, audio, and feedback on and off on the home screen and during the activities. 

While the app is designed for receptively learning verbs it works great for expressively labeling them. The audio is not automatic, so I had my students label the pictured actions before pushing the audio button to identify the correct verb. If my students chose the correct verb the others would disappear and it would bring up a new set of pictures. When my students chose the incorrect verb a loud voice would say "choose again". I ended up turning off the feedback since the voice was startling and there was no verbal reinforcement for correct answers. 

Overall I think this app was perfect for teaching my students to identify verbs. I liked that they used real images. I also like that I can choose how I want them displayed and change the display while playing the app, that made it easy to individualize for each student. And I didn't have to mess with a bunch of cards. I found this app to be a great progress monitoring tool for leaning to identify verbs and labeling them (if the audio is turned off). I used it mostly my preschool students. Since I used it mostly with my preschool students I would have liked for there to be more positive reinforcement for correct responses and to keep my students engaged. This app does not have any built in data collection which is always nice to have, but wasn't necessary. I was able to easily take data one each student.

You can purchase Learning Verbs for $2.99 in the iTunes store. You can find other information about this app and its developers by visiting Language Concepts. 

*Please note: This app was provided by the developer for review but the opinions here are all mine. No other compensation was provided.

Dollar Store Speech Ideas {Linky}

Ahhh, I love the Dollar Store or any place where I can get therapy materials that cheap! What SLP doesn't? And to be honest the kids LOVE the stuff I find there, probably more than the expensive games I have purchased. And lets face it, most SLPs have a tight budget to work with. I am so excited to link up with Kristin from Talkin' with Twang to share some of my dollar store finds and ways I use them.

The Dollar Store has tons of containers. I got these to store edible treats and for a Granny's Candies game that is missing the game board. I have also bought different colored containers which we use to throw balls into and score points or for sorting.

I have found books, window clings, and reinforcement toys. The books shown above are perfect for working on possessives. Window clings make such cute classroom decorations and always get my students talking.

Target's dollar spot has these adorable mini erasers and mailboxes. The erasers make perfect for game pieces. And themed stickers are perfect to use on worksheets or for following directions. 

I have also found fidget toys, reinforcements, and toys for my treasure box. 

For more great dollar store ideas and finds, head back over to Talkin' with Twang.

Happy shopping!

Birthday Bash Blog Hop

Woo Hoo! It's my birthday! I love, love LOVE birthdays, but this one is especially special since I will be turning 30 this month. (Hope my husband has something SUPER special planned.)

My store will be on sale all month with a different product at 30% off each day. On my actual birthday, (Friday January 15th) certain products will be 50% off. Be sure to follow my store here for updates and new products.

I wanted to celebrate my birthday with all of you since you all inspire me EVERY month of the year. I decided to host a blog hop and team up with some of my favorite sellers to bring all of you lots of freebies. 

Make sure you visit each blog to pick up your special gift!

And don't forget to enter the  Rafflecopter below for my Giveaway! I will announce the winner on January 15th. 

Here's a peek at the prizes...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you for celebrating with me!

Turkey Talk Blog Hop

Happy November! I can't believe it is already November! Where has this year gone? I have to admit that this is my favorite time of year though. The changing colors, yummy foods and smells, and of course, all of the festivities around the holiday season. I have been collaborating with some of my SLP blogger friends about something fun we could all do together to show you how THANKFUL we are for each of you! We decided to do a blog hop with lots of freebies to help making planning super simple this month, so you can spend more time with your family.

Here is how it works:
Karen from The Pedi Speechie has created an awesome Thanksgiving story, The Turkey That Wasn't Thankful, which is about a turkey that isn't thankful. Since you have arrived here, you will now be picking up the companion parts to this book. First is the comprehension questions created by yours truly. You can find them here:

There are two activities within my packet: a comprehension flip book and comprehension question cards. The flip book has visual answer choices and is separated by question type. The comprehension cards do not have answer choices. Next, you will be visiting Amy Beth from Speechasaurus to gobble up some awesome vocabulary activities.

Please don't forget to leave each of us some feedback. We love reading how you used all of the activities in your classrooms. And we would really appreciate if you could SPREAD THE WORD!